Knowledge Discovery in the SCADA Databases Used for the Municipal Power Supply System

This scientific paper delves into the problems related to the develop-ment of intellectual data analysis system that could support decision making to manage municipal power supply services. The management problems of mu-nicipal power supply system have been specified taking into consideration modern tendencies shown by new technologies that allow for an increase in the energy efficiency. The analysis findings of the system problems related to the integrated computer-aided control of the power supply for the city have been given. The consideration was given to the hierarchy-level management decom-position model. The objective task targeted at an increase in the energy effi-ciency to minimize expenditures and energy losses during the generation and transportation of energy carriers to the Consumer, the optimization of power consumption at the prescribed level of the reliability of pipelines and networks and the satisfaction of Consumers has been defined. To optimize the support of the decision making a new approach to the monitoring of engineering systems and technological processes related to the energy consumption and transporta-tion using the technologies of geospatial analysis and Knowledge Discovery in databases (KDD) has been proposed. The data acquisition for analytical prob-lems is realized in the wireless heterogeneous medium, which includes soft-touch VPN segments of ZigBee technology realizing the 6LoWPAN standard over the IEEE 802.15.4 standard and also the segments of the networks of cellu-lar communications. JBoss Application Server is used as a server-based plat-form for the operation of the tools used for the retrieval of data collected from sensor nodes, PLC and energy consumption record devices. The KDD tools are developed using Java Enterprise Edition platform and Spring and ORM Hiber-nate technologies

Quality Estimation of e-Learning Systems

Existing approaches to quality estimation of e-learning systems are analyzed. The “layered” approach for quality estimation of e-learning systems enhanced with learning process modeling and simulation is presented. The method of quality estimation using learning process modeling and quality criteria are suggested. The learning process model based on extended colored stochastic Petri net is described. The method has been implemented in the automated system of quality estimation of e-learning systems named “QuAdS”. Results of approbation of the developed method and quality criteria are shown. We argue that using learning process modeling for quality estimation simplifies identifying lacks of an e-learning system for an expert

Optical studies of 2D and 3D metallo-dielectric photonic crystals

Journal ArticleWe have fabricated and studied two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) metallo-dielectric photonic crystals (MDPC) in the visible/near ir spectral range using a variety of optical techniques. The 2D MDPC showed anomalous transmission due to surface plasmon polaritons in resonance with the photoluminescence band of a rr-conjugated polymer based on a poly-phenylene-vinylene derivative. Consequently we fabricated an organic light emitting diode (OLED) using the 2D MDPC as a cathode with improved performance over an OLED with unperforated cathode. The 3D MDPCs are based on metal infiltrated opal photonic crystals. We studied the reflectivity spectrum of various metal infiltrated MDPCs and found that the reflectivity is low in the visible spectral range but dramatically increases towards the infrared revealing the elusive metallic gap. Our findings are in good agreement with recent theoretical and numerical calculations based on a commercial program

Optical studies of metallodielectric photonic crystals: bismuth and gallium infiltrated opals

Journal ArticleWe have fabricated three-dimensional metallodielectric photonic crystals that consist of bismuth and gallium metals infiltrated into porous synthetic opals that have 300 nm diam silica balls. The specular reflectivity was measured in a broad spectral range from 0.3 to 25 mm using a variety of light sources, detectors and spectrometers. In addition to broadening of the original Bragg stop bands in the visible spectral range that give rise to iridescence colors, we also found a dramatic decrease of reflectivity in the visible/near-infrared spectral range. For frequencies below a cut-off frequency in the mid-infrared range the reflectivity increases to its normal bulk value in the respective metal, as predicted by theory and fitted by a model calculation

Semantic Modelling for Product Line Engineering

The aim of our work is to present solutions and a methodical support for automated techniques and procedures in domain engineering, in particular for variability modeling. Our approach is based upon Semantic Modeling concepts, for which semantic description, representation patterns and inference mechanisms are defined. Thus, model-driven techniques enriched with semantics will allow flexibility and variability in representation means, reasoning power and the required analysis depth for the identification, interpretation and adaptation of artifact properties and qualities

Educational achievements of migrant schoolchildren in Moscow

This article examines how migrant background influences educational outcomes of schoolchildren in Moscow and its oblast (region). We use logit regressions for panel data, over the years 2010 to 2013, taken from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE). As dependent variable we use educational progress approached by school grades as reported by parents or adult relatives. In addition, our econometric specification includes control variables such as socioeconomic status, type of school, health issues, gender, and age, to test the impact of migration status on the probability of being classified as a successful or unsuccessful student. The findings suggest that there is no difference between migrant and native schoolchildren, that is, migration background does not influence the educational achievements of pupils. On the other hand, as we expected, socioeconomic status has a negative impact on the probability of being classified an unsuccessful student. Boys have lower probabilities than girls of being classified as excellent students. Attendance of public regular schools negatively affects the probability of being an excellent student, health issues do not significantly affect the academic performance, while older students are low-performing. (author's abstract

Cognitive Approach in Castings’ Quality Control

Every year production volume of castings grows, especially grows production volume of non-ferrous metals, thanks to aluminium. As a result, requirements to castings quality also increase. Foundry men from all over the world put all their efforts to manage the problem of casting defects. In this article the authors present an approach based on the use of cognitive models that help to visualize inner cause-and-effect relations leading to casting defects in the foundry process. The cognitive models mentioned comprise a diverse network of factors and their relations, which together thoroughly describe all the details of the foundry process and their influence on the appearance of castings’ defects and other aspects.. Moreover, the article contains an example of a simple die casting model and results of simulation. Implementation of the proposed method will help foundry men reveal the mechanism and the main reasons of casting defects formation

Влияние внутренних противоречий в экономике США на глобальную финансиализацию и экспансию фиктивного капитала

The financialization genesis of the global economy centered in the United States is on the bifurcation point now— a fictive capital’ expansion is damaging with the social capital regeneration mechanism disaster. The method of identifying and estimating the fictive capital’ extension is absent for now. The fictive capital exists as a metaphor on the science papers but not as an institutional basis of the capital flows directions. The paper aims to update the configuration of the global financial system, its dependence on the performance of US corporations and banks; to identify the sources of vulnerability of world finance and global liquidity from the fictitious capital of American financial markets. The methodology is theoretical pattern’ of financial capital movements and its real statistical market indicators comparison. The empirical base is statistical data about the financial flows and financial results especially about the US as a global financial center. Based on the results the authors have revealed an origin of fictive capital on the US bank sector by the justification for the conclusion of liquidity above the profitable as the purpose of financial operations. This conclusion is confirmed with the scale of off-balance sheet transactions of banks. Besides the regression between the prices of derivative’ basis assets and stock indexes has been shown. Also, the market capitalization of American companies is not sensitive to change in market liquidity indicators. The authors concluded that global financialization is supported by significant internal contradictions in the US economy. The source of contradictions is the financial mechanism for withdrawing liquidity from the sphere of production and circulation into the sphere of financial markets. Capital investment using instruments of the US financial market entails the threat of losing their liquidity. Forecasting the dynamics of the global economy without taking into account the role of fictitious capital, which is emerging in the American financial markets, leads to global vulnerability and may cause the next financial crisis.Эволюция процесса финансиализации глобальной экономики с центром в США подошла к точке бифуркации — экспансия фиктивного капитала угрожает нарушением механизмов общественного воспроизводства капитала. Однако сегодня отсутствует четкий метод идентификации масштабов распространения фиктивного капитала, он используется в научных исследованиях как метафора, а не в качестве новой институциональной основы движения финансовых потоков. Цель исследования— актуализация конфигурации мировой финансовой системы, ее зависимости от результатов деятельности корпораций и банков США, выявление источников уязвимости мировых финансов и глобальной ликвидности от фиктивного капитала американских финансовых рынков. Методологической основой исследования стало сопоставление теоретически установленных закономерностей поведения финансового капитала с фактическими данными о результатах совершения операций рыночными агентами. База исследования — статистические данные о движении финансовых потоков и результатах финансовых операций в глобальной экономике с упором на данные статистики США как центра мировой финансовой системы. В результате обоснования вывода о преобладании цели максимизации ликвидности над максимизацией прибыльности банковских операций авторы выявили источники фиктивного капитала в деятельности банковского сектора США. Масштабы забалансовых операций банков подтверждают данный вывод. Показана зависимость цен базисных активов товарных деривативов от биржевых индексов, а также устойчивость рыночной капитализации американских компаний к изменениям уровня ликвидности их акций. Сделан вывод, что глобальная финансиализация поддерживается существенными внутренними противоречиями в экономике США. Источником противоречий является финансовый механизм вывода ликвидности из сферы производства и обращения в сферу финансовых рынков. Размещение капиталов с использованием инструментов финансового рынка США влечет угрозу потери их ликвидности, а прогнозирование динамики глобальной экономики без учета роли фиктивного капитала, зарождающегося на американских финансовых рынках, приводит к глобальной уязвимости и может стать причиной очередного финансового кризиса